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A tail-less Cardinal?! I’ve never heard or seen such a thing! But during my most recent FeederWatch shift, this tail-less male Cardinal made an appearance. What in the world happened to this Cardinal and why doesn’t he have any tail feathers? He most likely went through a “fright molt,” also known as a “stress molt” or “shock molt.”
During a fright molt, all the tail feathers are simultaneously ejected from their follicles, leaving the bird tail-less. By doing this, the bird is able to escape from a predator either by leaving it with a mouth or talon full of just feathers, or confusing it by leaving a puff of feathers behind. Similar to how an octopus releases ink to confuse its predators. The bird will be tail-less for four to six weeks until the new feathers grow in. Although they may look a bit silly, the bird is still able to fly and go about its life as usual. Hopefully without any taunting or teasing from the other birdies and squirrels at the feeder. A few weeks ago, during two of my FeederWatch shifts, we had a Cooper’s Hawk swoop through and hang out, looking for a tasty bird treat. Both weeks the hawk was going after the Cardinals, so I have a sneaking suspicion that the Cardinal did a fright molt during a close encounter with the Cooper’s Hawk. Losing a tail is much better than losing your life!
29 Comments
Larissa Fitzgerald
1/1/2018 01:50:39 pm
How neat! Love learning new things like this. :) I've yet to encounter anything that cool during my FeederWatch days at home, but now I'll have to be more aware always!
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Megan Betcher
1/1/2018 04:20:23 pm
Normally there isn't too much going on, but we have had a Cooper's Hawk visit quite a bit, and we also have a partially leucistic Downy Woodpecker which is pretty fun to see. Usually I see it in the morning filling feeders, but I did get to see it during my FeederWatch in the afternoon a few times. Pretty fun to be able to do the Watch at such busy feeders at work! That is awesome that you are doing it at your house! I wish I had more visitor at my feeder at home to do it.
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Elizabeth Walden
1/3/2019 11:37:25 am
I have a tail-less male cardinal coming to my feeder—noticed him yesterday. I found your post to verify what I was seeing. We have seen cats coming through our yard and I saw a hawk land just last week as well. My photos aren’t as good as your photos. I’ll be watching for his new feathers!
Eileen Monturio
5/20/2019 06:43:14 am
May 2019 I have a female talus cardinal at my feeder I was wondering about her missing tail so this story was very interesting to me.
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Lisa Chapman
6/30/2020 09:41:04 am
Hi....My partner and I have been watching this gorgeous male tail-less cardinal....Im glad to learn how it happened..TY!
Art McQuillan
5/7/2023 11:48:19 am
Thankfully we found this reply after seeing a tailless male cardinal this morning. We were worried about him but then did see him fly away. This explains it. Thanks for putting our minds at ease!
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Ben Datres
1/3/2018 03:26:24 pm
Neatures pretty neat!
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Barbara
4/1/2018 09:51:11 pm
Mystery Solved! I have been watching a tail-less cardinal at our feeder for weeks and sit in amazement that it can fly and survive. I wondered if the tail would grow back. The one at our feeder appears just as tail-less as it did 5 weeks ago (unless there is more than one). Thanks for posting this explanation.
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Megan Betcher
4/2/2018 09:43:53 am
Barbara, Thanks so much for reading my post and leaving a comment! They sure do look odd without their tails, but it doesn't seem to affect them. Hopefully your cardinal will grow it's tail back soon. Please keep checking in and reading new posts!
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Laura Conner
6/15/2019 07:35:48 am
How interesting. I’m watching my little tail-less female cardinal, currently. I was so puzzled when I saw her. Thank you for solving the mystery of the missing tail. I’m excited to see the new tail growth, eventually.
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Megan Betcher
1/5/2019 04:50:10 pm
Elizabeth, Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my blog! I'm glad you were able to figure out what was going on with your Cardinal. Isn't nature amazing? Keep checking back for new posts, or subscribe under the "Get in Touch" page!
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Cheryl
1/20/2019 07:33:06 am
I found a large group of cardinal feathers under a feeder but no blood so I wasn’t sure if a neighborhood cat got him or if the resident red-tailed hawk swooped in. I will be looking for a cardinal without a tail to see if this was a fright molt. I’d not heard of this before so I am glad I read your post. Thank you.
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Megan Betcher
1/21/2019 09:59:17 am
Cheryl, thanks for reading! If you would like to recieve notifications when a new blog is posted, click on the "Get in Touch" tab at the top right of the page. Happy Birding!
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Camille Hankins
3/8/2019 11:29:48 am
Thanks for confirming our resident tailless Cardinal will be alright. I also have seen a large hawk visiting the bird feeder area. Thanks I'll sign up to stay informed about my feathered friends .
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Megan Betcher
3/8/2019 02:16:35 pm
Camille, I'm glad you were able to find my blog to answer your Cardinal question! A pretty neat trick they have up their sleeve! Thanks for reading.
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3/28/2019 08:49:31 am
Just saw a tail less male cardinal at our feeder this morning and I’m pretty sure he had tail feathers yesterday. There are two males that often try to feed at the same intervals. Only one female, though. Predators galore here. Thanks for the post explaining the fright molt.
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Megan Betcher
3/31/2019 07:43:59 pm
Thanks for reading, Dawn! If you would like to be added to the email notification list, check out the "Get in Touch" page! Happy birding!
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Crystal
4/13/2019 05:52:21 pm
Thanks for the information. I saw one today for the first time. (And I volunteered at a wildlife rescue center for 10 years!) Glad to know his tail feathers will grow back. I thought it may have been a genetic mutation at first.
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Patricia
7/8/2019 06:46:48 am
This morning our windows were quite frosty with condensation making it difficult to get a clear view outside but I noticed a bird hopping around on the window ledge. As I moved closer to get a better look, the moisture obstructed her view also and she was frightened away by my advances as they normally do. I was puzzled because it appeared that the female cardinal was without a tail. My initial thought was that it was a young bird whose tail hasn’t quite grown in, but my research led me to your post. Thank you for providing this interesting information. I’ll be sure to watch for her return. I have 3-4 pairs of Cardinals everyday at the feeder so I’m sure I’ll see her again.
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Bridget
7/22/2019 05:16:02 pm
Thanks for sharing this information, we have a male and female Cardinals at our feeders and a pair of youths too. Today one was hoping around a basil plant. Now I know why.
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Linda BayBridge
2/21/2020 02:15:52 pm
Thank you for this interesting information. We regularly have Cardinals at our feeder but this is the first time we've seen one without a tail. This was about a month ago & the feathers must have grown back because I don't see a tail-less one any more. Very interesting
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Heather
7/3/2020 04:23:52 pm
I have a tailed male cardinal too! He perched on my car and looks at himself in the side mirror. So adorable!
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Paulette
7/5/2020 03:42:39 pm
I just saw a baby cardinal, mom and dad were with it, with no tail feathers. Was just wondering if it was born that way. Hope it wasn't fright molt for such a little one. Poor thing
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Jerry Jastram
12/26/2021 04:35:59 pm
We have a dozen or so cardinals that are regulars at our feeder. One of then recently showed up without tail feathers. I do have a couple of pictures of him.
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Nehemiah
4/14/2022 07:26:46 am
This morning, a cardinal flew into our front window. I found it on the porch and picked it up. We all enjoyed the close up encounter with a cardinal while it caught its breath. After it realized it was alive, it freaked out and dropped its tail feathers before we got it back outside and let it go. Fascinating experience this morning for the kids, providing a new appreciation of the beautiful cardinal!
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Marci French
5/10/2022 06:49:18 am
We have a male and female cardinal here in Arkansas that has no tail feathers. The female has 1. We were amazed to see such a sight. Its nice knowing why their feathers are missing.
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Bill
7/15/2022 06:40:07 am
We have 5 or 6 juvenile cardinals visiting our feeder with one have no tail feathers. I suspect the sharp shinned hawk I see occasionally is the cause.
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Anne
8/27/2022 09:06:03 am
We appreciate your great post. We were worried about a tailless young male cardinal, which is mercilessly picked on by 5 other cardinals. However, he has learned to come to eat at off times, and today I noticed his tail feathers are growing back. So glad to know he’ll be OK.
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Sarah E.
8/8/2023 10:42:28 am
Thank you for this. I see it’s a few years old, but very relevant to me. I’ve been seeing a bird that I was sure is a cardinal, but no tail! To further confuse, I think he was moulting but had some odd streaks of color. Now his feathers have come in, surely he is a cardinal, but no tail (yet.). We have a pair of Cooper’s hawks that live in the tall poplars behind our house. From all the comments, I think the mystery is solved as to why this cardinal has no tail. He has no problem flying, so far as I can see. This is all so interesting. Thank you.
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